'Time for South India to take care of its own geopolitics'

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 October 2009, 00:26 GMT]The historic duty of Tamil Nadu today is to cast with far sight its diplomatic weight internationally, convincing New Delhi and the international community to come out with fundamental solutions recognizing the national aspirations of Eezham Tamils, writes TamilNet political commentator in Colombo. "Saying foreign affairs is an exclusive domain of the Centre is only an excuse in contemporary world, especially when a federal government fails in it seriously affecting the strategic interests of a state. A Tamil Nadu delegation visiting Sri Lanka is perhaps for the first time an external affairs exercise of a state in India, but it has cut a negative image with the people to whom it was meant for, raising questions on the bona fides of the whole exercise," the commentator further says.

Further comments from the political columnist:

The strategy of Mahinda Rajapaksa government to save itself from the consequences of its crimes is on one hand to sell the assets of the island in return for getting impunity and on the other hand continuing structural genocide of Tamils unhindered, to sustain its support with the Sinhala masses.

While powers that abetted the war are being rewarded and business houses and corporations from India flock in, whether the real purpose of the Tamil Nadu delegation was to claim the share due for the ruling house of Tamil Nadu is the big question raised in the Tamil circles watching the modes operandi of the delegation.

Eezham Tamil media in the island and in the diaspora came hard on the delegation this week, especially on its perceivable disinterest in negotiating immediate release of the captive civilians in the internment camps.

An article in a Jaffna Daily, Uthayan, saw the delegates as tourists in a zoo.

Citing remarks of some delegates hinting for patience in the release of civilians, in view of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s constrains from his Army, Tamil websites raise a question whether this is in fact a hidden agenda of the delegation.

News reports from Jaffna are full of stories on the rudeness of some members of the delegation and officials of the Indian High Commission. There were also reports on posters with pictures of Sonia Gandhi, Karunanidhi, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Douglas Devananda displayed in the walls of Jaffna during the visit, welcoming the kin from India.

Obviously people who are already sensitive in their miseries are hurt by the festivities and highhandedness associated with the visit.

There were remarks in news blogs that any delegation from India is expected to show humility and should bear in heart the guilty of India for playing a major partner in the war and for being directly responsible to the plight of Tamils.

Doubts are cast on the effectiveness of the delegation of a government that could not so far even deliver a shipment of relief material for which it took responsibility.

Whatever the long term plans could be, it seems the ‘post-war’ approach of New Delhi and Chennai in addressing Eezham Tamils is doomed at the outset and is badly in need of a fresh paradigm.

Mr. Karunanidhi will get into history for making the blunder of announcing against the independence of Eezham Tamils and for appeasing with aggressors. He might have had ‘constrains’, but he could still mend his ways if future history is what he cares for.

Other than a few individuals behind the reins of the government in New Delhi, the vast majority of politicians or people of North India are not disposed against the liberation of Eezham Tamils. Ironically the main antagonists of Eezham Tamil independence are among the elite of the two southern states, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The four southern states of India need to be awakened to their own geopolitical weight and interests. Their security and prosperity lies very much on the creation of a friendly Tamil Eelam. Failing, they will soon find unwanted and hostile strangers in their neighbourhood.

It would be ideal if the four states could jointly think of sponsoring an alternative force of professionals skilled and experienced in international relations to internationally attend to the task, besides mobilising the masses. They don’t need to do it for Eezham Tamils. They have to do it for them.